Tripura Police seized Ra. 40 lakh in cash from a private Bolero vehicle during a routine naka checking at Durga Chowmuhani in Dhalai district s Kamalpur on Saturday night, leading to the detention of five persons travelling in the vehicle.

According to police sources, the vehicle, bearing registration number TR 01 CD 0692, was intercepted at around 8 pm while it was travelling from Dharmanagar towards Agartala. During a search, police recovered the cash from inside the vehicle.

The naka checking operation was conducted under the joint leadership of Kamalpur Traffic In-Charge Pankaj Debnath and Officer-in-Charge of Kamalpur Police Station, Suman Acharya.

The five persons detained in connection with the seizure have been identified as Mukhtar Hossain, Jasim Mia, Kabir Mia, Liton Mia and Rabindra Das. Police sources said their ages range between 18 and 33 years.

During preliminary questioning, the detained persons reportedly claimed that the Rs. 40 lakh was related to a betel-nut (supari) business transaction. However, police reportedly found inconsistencies in their statements during the initial inquiry.

According to police, the five individuals are residents of different parts of Tripura, while their explanations regarding the source and transportation of such a large amount of cash reportedly raised further questions.

The seized money was counted using a currency-counting machine in the presence of Kamalpur Sub-Divisional DCM Aditi Das, SDPO Saurav Das, police officer Kapil Pal and other police officers.

Police are now investigating the actual source of the Ra. 40 lakh, the nature of the business transaction for which the cash was allegedly being transported, and whether any other individuals or a larger network are connected with the incident.

Police said further details regarding the source of the money and the involvement of other persons would emerge as the investigation progresses. The process of producing the seized cash and the five detained persons before the court has also been initiated.